Expression of the category of precedence by prepositions and conjunctions in the English language

Abstract

In this article, a semantic-syntactic analysis of prepositions and conjunctions in the English language with the semantics of precedence is presented. The research objective is to determine the features of the functioning of prepositions and conjunctions in the English language involved in representing the category of precedence. A set of prepositions and conjunctions of temporal semantics implementing the studied meaning has been identified in the paper. The scientific novelty lies in identifying the dominant functions of a preposition or conjunction as non-verbal means of expressing temporality, particularly the meaning of precedence, in determining the temporal meaning of the statement. The obtained results revealed that in the English language, the potential for representing precedence by prepositions and conjunctions is determined by their combinability. Prepositions of precedence are differentiated by types of precedence: 1) immediate precedence (till and until); 2) distant precedence without obligatory localization (before); 3) precedence to a specific moment in time without a zone of distance (by). Prepositions more often express precedence to an explicit time interval, while conjunctions represent precedence to an event described in a subordinate clause, and implying an interval. The specificity of the English language lies in the homonymy of prepositions and conjunctions of precedence.